Giant electric vehicle (EV). Tesla is currently being examined by US prosecutors regarding claims the brand made about the capabilities of its semi-autonomous driving system.
Reuters reports from sources that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is examining whether Tesla committed wire or securities fraud by misleading both investors and consumers about the technology that powers it. Drive your advanced vehicle.
This is the latest step in a case reported for the first time in October 2022focuses on whether Tesla and its outspoken CEO, Elon Musk, have made statements suggesting that the cars could drive themselves.
Tesla offers three levels of semi-autonomous driving software, marketed as Autopilot, Advanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
Autopilot includes adaptive cruise control and lane control functions, while Advanced Autopilot adds the ability for the vehicle to navigate and change lanes autonomously.
Depending on the market, Full Self-Driving can bring the car to a stop at red traffic lights and stop signs, and there’s an Autosteer function for urban driving.
While the company warns customers that the system requires a human to take control in an emergency, their name often attracts fierce criticism, who believe they make drivers think the vehicle is Theirs can drive without input.
Based on ReutersThe Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating how Tesla presented the capabilities of its automated driving system to investors.
2018A former Tesla engineer testified that a video released by the automaker in 2016, showing one of its semi-autonomous electric cars driving without human intervention, was staged. built through the use of a 3D map of a predetermined route, while the human behind its steering wheel intervened during the test run.
Despite this, a card before the video reads: “The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He didn’t do anything. The car is driving itself.”
Mr Musk then uploaded a post to the social media platform Twitter – now X, which he also owns – that read: “Tesla drives autonomously (without human intervention) through the urban street to the highway, then find a parking spot.”
Prosecutors are said to have not yet launched a formal investigation as they are currently processing many documents provided by Tesla following the subpoena.
It would also need to prove that Tesla and Mr. Musk knowingly made false statements to hold the company and its chief executive responsible for fraud.
Previous investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have found that Autopilot was used before various crashes that resulted in 14 deaths and 54 injuries.
All Tesla vehicles equipped with Autopilot were recalled in the US earlier this year, affecting more than two million cars, after NHTSA discovered that drivers could bypass measures intended to detect abuse of the system.
Following its investigation, NHTSA said it found “a serious safety gap between drivers’ expectations” of Tesla’s automated driving technology “and the actual capabilities of the system” that resulted in “the misuse and avoidable accidents.”
Despite this, Mr. Musk continues to develop a more capable Full Self-Driving system, which is available for all US Tesla vehicles with the hardware to run for a one-time fee of $8000 US$ (A$12,100) or monthly. for US$99 (A$150).
In 2019, Mr. Musk said there would be “more than a million Tesla vehicles on the road with Full Self-Driving hardware” by mid-2020, potentially allowing drivers to fall asleep behind the wheel.
After first being made available to select US ‘beta’ testers in September 2021, Full Self-Driving (aka FSD) has been made generally available to all Tesla vehicles in the US there is the potential to run the system by November 2022 – without the need for road safety regulator approval.
Teslas with FSD were soon recalled in February 2023 due to safety concerns, and an OTA update was rolled out to address the bug.
FSD still does not have regulatory approval in the US, although its beta tag was removed late last year.
Reuters report, Tesla lawyers argued that “failure to realize an aspirational, long-term goal does not constitute fraud” in a 2022 court filing.
THAN: Tesla is under criminal investigation in the US for self-driving car claims – report
THAN: Tesla engineer admitted self-driving car video in 2016 was staged
